The Rotterdam is a Landing Platform Dock or LPD amphibious warfare ship with a large helicopter deck and a dock for large landing craft. Her pennant number is L800 and the size is 166 meters length and Displacement 12,750 tonnes. Rotterdam was launched in 1997 and a second LPD, ‘Johan de Witt’ is planned to enter service in 2007. The new vessel will be equipped with command and control facilities. The class was a joint design between the Netherlands and Spain. The two ships of the Spanish Galicia-class are the Galicia (commissioned in 1998) and the Castilla (2001).

HrMs Rotterdam (L 800) is one of a range of LPD ships called the Enforcer Series, designed by Schelde, Shipbuilding of the Royal Schelde Company.

DESIGN
The overall length of the hull of the Rotterdam class is 162.2m, its breadth is 25m and its maximum draught is 5.9m. The maximum displacement is 14,000t. Rotterdam is capable of carrying out helicopter operations up to sea state 6. Operations with landing craft are possible up to sea state 4.

Amphibious tasks include the ability to embark, transport and disembark one Marine Corps battalion, including the associated combat and logistic support vehicles and equipment. The ship carries provisions and stores for battalion transportation for more than ten days. The vessel is also capable of transferring reserve forces and for the evacuation of casualties.

The ship is operated by a crew of 124, including 13 officers. Accommodation is also provided for a fully equipped marine battalion or up to 613 troops. HrMs Rotterdam has facilities to transport 170 armoured personnel carriers, or 33 main battle tanks, and also docking facilities for up to six landing craft, for example six LCVP mk 3, four LCU mk 9 or four LCM 8 landing craft.

HrMs Rotterdam has extensive fully equipped hospital facilities with a medical treatment room, a medical operating theatre and a medical laboratory.

WEAPON SYSTEMS
Two Thales Nederland (formerly Signaal) Goalkeeper close in weapon systems are installed on the bow deck and on the upper deck immediately overlooking the helicopter landing deck. Goalkeeper’s Gatling-principle 30mm gun provides a maximum firing rate of 4,200 rounds/min with a range of 1,500m.

To support the Goalkeeper CIWS, a Thales Nederland IRSCAN infrared search and track system is fitted. IRSCAN can detect and track targets to a maximum range of 20km.

Four Oerlikon 20mm guns are located on the bridge deck. Rotterdam has the capacity to carry up to 36 torpedoes in the magazine area.

AIRCRAFT
The 58m x 25m flight deck has landing spots for two large helicopters such as the EH101.

The aircraft hangar is sufficiently large to accommodate up to four EH101 helicopter or six medium-size helicopters such as the Super Puma or the NH90. The hangar has extensive helicopter maintenance and spares facilities.

COUNTERMEASURES
The ship’s decoy system consists of four SRBOC (Super Rapid Blooming Offboard Countermeasures) decoy launchers from Lockheed Martin Sippican, which fire infrared decoys and chaff for confusion, distraction and seduction of incoming anti-ship missiles. It is also fitted with the AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy, from Sensytech Inc of Newington, Virginia.

SENSORS
The radar suite includes: Thales Nederland DA08 air and surface search radar operating at E and F bands, Kelvin Hughes ARPA surface search radar operating at I-band and two sets of navigation and aviation radar operating at I-band.

HrMs Johan de Witt has been fitted with the Thales Nederland VARIANT 2-D Mk 2 air and surface surveillance radar.

PROPULSION
The ship is equipped with four Stork Wartsila diesel generators, model 12SW28 generating 14MW, and two Holec motors generating 12MW, driving two shafts. The bow thruster is rated at 185kW. The top speed is over 18kt, and the range at 12kt is over 6,000 miles.

© International Marine Consultancy

sources: Naval Technology

Direct from Owners, International Marine Consultancy can offer this new build DAMEN 1205 MultiCat for charter. This workboat is purpose built for working in shallow waters. With a maximum draft of only 1,5m this vessel still manages to generate 440 break horsepower giving it a bollard pull of 6 ton. Combined with a 10t Heila deck crane and good deck space this vessel is highly suited for survey work and dredging activities in shallow and coastal waters.

For full vessel details, click here.

© International Marine Consultancy

© International Marine Consultancy

© International Marine Consultancy

Direct from Owners we have two Self Propelled Split Hopper Barges available for charter, each with a capacity of 660 cubic metres. Both vessels are currently located in the Mediterranean. These seagoing split hopper barges are a proven design for carrying dredged materials. The easy and fast way of dumping makes this ship very interesting for use in combination with e.g. cutter dredgers.

Details can be viewed here.

TSAVLIRIS Salvage Group of Greece has added another ocean salvage tug to its fleet, acquiring the former ‘Abeille Normandie’ for an undisclosed sum, writes Nigel Lowry in Athens.

The 16,000 ihp vessel (ex ZOUROS HELLAS), said to be in South Africa, is likely to be kept on station in Cape Town, the group said. “Our business is expanding, partially because serious competition is actually on the decrease,” added a company spokesman. “We are the only global salvage company maintaining a chain of permanent salvage stations world - wide without any financial assistance.”

© Terry Hutson

© Tsavliris

Support vessels that had traditionally tried “poaching” salvage contracts were all now concentrating on core oilfield business because of booming market conditions, Tsavliris contended.

The salvage tug, being renamed Tsavliris Hellas, was built by the Belgian Beliard-Murdoch facility and is Rina certified as ice class 1C. It has a range of 15,000 miles at 10 knots and a top speed of 15 knots from two main engines generating a total 10,000 bhp. The tug is certified for 120 tonnes bollard pull, has two double drum tow winches and is equipped with two fire pumps, three monitors and anti-pollution equipment including a 400 cu m tank.

Tsavliris told Lloyd’s List it was interested in expanding its network with further tug acquisitions.

Source: Tsavliris/Lloyd’s List

Dan Tug A/S of Fredericia is the name of a newly formed Danish towing company set up by two mariners and divers, who wanted to start a business on their own. Klaus Dresler and Klaus Kristensen started their new company by purchasing two tugs from the towing company Jens Alfastsen of Horsens. It is the Susanne A, with a 40 tons bollard pull, that has been taken over at the homeport of Horsens. The tug will continue with same name for another three months on a time charter in the Mediterranean.

The other is the small tug Sanne A of seven tons bollard pull. The tug is one of the oldest vessels in commercial work under Danish flag, built in Göteborg in 1908. Sanne A has changed name to Mads and will continue working in domestic waters. This week the tug and its owners started on a salvage operation of a pleasure yacht worth DKK 2.5 million at the port of Hou. At the towing company Jens Alfastsen only one tug is left in the fleet now, the Luna A, after the sale of the largest tug Mira A in March.

AllAfrica.com reports that one of Mozambique’s few dredging vessels, Rovuma (former GOA), sank on Saturday in the port of Beira, Mozambique.

The report said there was no loss of life, and the port authority said the stricken dredger posed no threat to maritime safety.

The causes of the accident are not yet known, but the vessel’s owner, the state-owned dredging company Emodraga, suspects it may have hit a hidden wreck.

Rovuma is 45 years old, and arrived in Mozambique in the early 1970s, before the country’s independence, and has been operating in Beira since 2000.

In 1975 (then named ‘GOA’ and managed by the Dutch concern “Breejenbout” for the Mocambiquan dredging department “Emodraga”) the dredge was sabotaged and sank alongside the quay in Lourenco Marques, starboard side down. After many days of negotiations South African Diving Services based in Durban, managed to secure the contract to refloat the vessel. As there was no salvage equipment locally available all equipment was mobilized from Durban. Vessel was successfully refloated and after the water protraction treatment had been completed, it was handed back to her owners “Emodraga”.

source: AllAfrica.com, Daily Shipping Newsletter